Schools usually reflect the societies in which they are in. Take the example of America 200 years ago, people only needed a little learning from books because most people still lived a simple life based on farming. School started quite late in the day and ended early to leave time for the jobs students did for their families. In summer, school stopped so children could help their parents in the fields. There were only a few subjects, controlled largely by the teacher, and the aim was on developing basic skills.
B In that world, the one-room schoolhouse was enough. Teachers taught reading, writing, and simple mathematics to help with the skills students learned outside school. Since only few students went as far as high school, the need for higher levels of education, like college and university, was very small.
C By the late 1800s, more and more people were moving to cities and going to work in factories.To teach students the basic skills and simple facts they needed for jobs in factories, the first great revolution in schooling took place: the factory school model appeared. Schools were very big with many classrooms where students sat in neat rows with the teacher in front. Schools aimed at producing students with exactly the same types of skills. Students learned enough to work at jobs, in factories, that they would probably keep for most of their lives.Today many students still attend factory-model schools.
D Much of the day is spent only listening to lectures. Many classes teach skills for jobs that either no longer exist or will not exist when students grow up. It is clear that this type of schooling is not enough for the modern world. Only about 20 percent of working people now work in factories or on farms. People graduating from high school or college will average six to eight jobs over their careers, many of them requiring skills they don’t know about yet. About half of all employed Americans work with information—studying information that already exists, generating new information, storing and retrieving information. Soon a major part of this group will not even work in an office, but at home. Most people agree that this new way of life needs a new type of education.
E In this new kind of school, all students will need to reach much higher standards of learning because everyone will have to be able to think to get a good job. People will also have to be able to learn many new skills from when they are young to when they are older. This new type of education will increase the links between students and their communities. The timing and location of education will also be more flexible, to suit and take advantage of changes in the workplace. Students will be expected to learn inside schools and outside of them too.
National Academy of Sciences. "The Information Revolution Will Transform Education." Opposing Viewpoints: The Information Revolution. Ed. Paul A. Winters. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1998. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Apollo Library. 7 Dec. 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010147215&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=apollo&version=1.0>.
A
B
In that world, the one-room schoolhouse was enough. Teachers taught reading, writing, and simple mathematics to help with the skills students learned outside school. Since only few students went as far as high school, the need for higher levels of education, like college and university, was very small.
C
By the late 1800s, more and more people were moving to cities and going to work in factories.To teach students the basic skills and simple facts they needed for jobs in factories, the first great revolution in schooling took place: the factory school model appeared. Schools were very big with many classrooms where students sat in neat rows with the teacher in front. Schools aimed at producing students with exactly the same types of skills. Students learned enough to work at jobs, in factories, that they would probably keep for most of their lives.Today many students still attend factory-model schools.
D
Much of the day is spent only listening to lectures. Many classes teach skills for jobs that either no longer exist or will not exist when students grow up. It is clear that this type of schooling is not enough for the modern world. Only about 20 percent of working people now work in factories or on farms. People graduating from high school or college will average six to eight jobs over their careers, many of them requiring skills they don’t know about yet. About half of all employed Americans work with information—studying information that already exists, generating new information, storing and retrieving information. Soon a major part of this group will not even work in an office, but at home. Most people agree that this new way of life needs a new type of education.
E
In this new kind of school, all students will need to reach much higher standards of learning because everyone will have to be able to think to get a good job. People will also have to be able to learn many new skills from when they are young to when they are older. This new type of education will increase the links between students and their communities. The timing and location of education will also be more flexible, to suit and take advantage of changes in the workplace. Students will be expected to learn inside schools and outside of them too.